Of Birthdays and Kisses
by ronniekins77
Summary: It's Susan's tenth birthday, but she can't think of what to wish for.


**A/N:** Written in January of 2006. I realize that this fic touches on the idea of a ten-year-old girl wearing makeup, and it was pointed out to me by readers of _What's In a Kiss_ that this wouldn't really be an accurate portrayal of girls in the 1940's. Since this fic was written so long ago, I have no desire to change that part of it. Just know that I realize this wasn't commonplace. :)

Also, this story was NOT meant to be incestuous.

--

Everything was perfect.

The Pevensie family had spent the entire day readying the house for this dinner. The nice tablecloth had been spread upon the table, the fancy china had been set at each place on the table, and Edmund, for once, was not sticking a spoon to his nose while sitting at said table.

There were even presents sitting in the corner of the room, wrapped in bright paper and adorned with big bows, brought in by the many guests in attendance.

There was only one thing - or rather - person, missing.

And that was the birthday girl.

"Why won't she hurry up?" said Edmund grumpily. "I want some cake."

"There, there, Ed, she's probably just a little nervous after that talk your mother gave her," said Mr. Pevensie, rolling his eyes slightly at his wife.

"Well, dear, I just told her that ten is a very important age. You become a woman at ten," she responded, looking around at the anxious guests.

"You do?" said little Lucy.

"Well, _Peter_ didn't become a man when he turned ten," said Edmund.

Peter looked quite affronted by this. "Maybe not, but I did when I turned eleven. Which is three years older than you, don't you forget it."

"Still," went on Mr. Pevensie, as if he hadn't heard his children's interjections, "you didn't need to tell her she could wear make up now that she's a woman."

"Oh, please," said Mrs. Pevensie, "she's just putting on a bit of lipstick. No harm in that."

"That's probably why she's taking so long," said he, "she doesn't know how to do it!"

Mrs. Pevensie gave an overdramatic sigh and placed a hand on Peter's shoulder. "Dear, could you please go tell Susan to hurry? There's a lot of guests here for her."

As Peter stood up from his seat and walked toward the stairs, Edmund shouted at his back, "And _some_ of us want cake!"

--

Peter climbed the stairs two at a time, simply because his legs were long enough to do so, and made his way toward the end of the hallway.

The door to Susan's and Lucy's bedroom was open halfway, so he didn't have to knock, but he didn't walk straight in either. That was rude, he had been taught, and so he stood at the door's entrance. "Su?" he said.

His sister did not answer him and so Peter walked into the room, closing the door behind him. "Su?" he repeated.

She was standing very still at the far end of the room, staring into a large mirror. Peter walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Mum says you should come down now," he told her, and she nodded, still staring at her reflection.

When she did not make any indication that she was going to move, Peter sat down on her bed. "All right, what's the matter?" he said.

Susan turned to face him, a frown on her face. "Peter, do you think I look pretty?" she asked.

Peter blinked. "Sure, Su, you look lovely."

And she did, in fact, look lovely. She was wearing a white dress with a heavy amount of lace decorating it, white stockings, and shiny black shoes. Her black hair had been curled and her lips were a rosy red.

Susan stared at him sadly. "I don't feel pretty."

"Well, you _do_ look it," said Peter. His sister had always been pretty and he wasn't just saying it because that's what brothers were supposed to say - he was saying it because he meant it. "Though, Su," he grinned, leaning forward as if to share a secret with her, "I think you even look pretty without lipstick and curled hair."

She smiled and Peter was happy to see the sadness go out of her eyes. "Peter," she said, and he could sense that she was going to change the topic, "when you were ten what did you wish for?"

"Why, it was only a year ago, Su. You make it sound like it was a long time ago! Why do you want to know, anyway?"

"Because," she said, "I was going to wish I was pretty, but you've all ready said I am. Now I have to think of a different wish."

Peter rolled his eyes. "You're silly."

"Maybe so, but I still want to know what you wished for."

Peter shook his head. "You'll make fun of me," he said.

"No, I won't!" said Susan, laughing. "I promise."

Peter looked at her, and said, "You musn't tell anyone either."

"I won't!"

It was then that Peter mumbled under his breath what he had wished for when he had turned ten, and Susan had to lean in really close to hear. Her eyes widened slightly and she pulled away from him, a smirk slowly crossing her face.

"Well," she said, "that doesn't sound like a bad wish at all."

--

Peter and Susan came downstairs a few moments later, and when everyone saw Susan they grew silent and made '_oh_' noises. "Why, she looks so pretty!" they exclaimed to each other and Peter looked knowingly at his sister.

"Can we have cake now?" grumbled Edmund, and Lucy, in a voice quite like Mrs. Pevensie's, told him to hold his horses. Edmund sank lower in his chair, refusing to speak to anyone, and mumbled about 'little girls'.

For an hour or so, Susan was busy opening her presents, and Peter smiled. He liked seeing his brothers and sisters happy, and Susan was certainly the happiest he'd ever seen her.

After all the presents were opened and all the guests gathered round, Mr. Pevensie brought out the birthday cake and sat it down in front of Susan. Mrs. Pevensie lit the candles and turned out the lights and everyone sang, 'Happy Birthday'.

It was then time for Susan to make a wish and blow out her candles, but she paused before she did so, glancing at Peter next to her. Grinning, she blew out her candles, and in her head, she thought, _I wish to receive my first kiss when I am ten years old._

_--_

A year flew by quickly, and before everyone knew it, the day of Susan Pevensie's eleventh birthday party had arrived.

"Where _is_ that girl?" sighed Mrs. Pevensie.

"I tell you, she's upstairs putting on that lipstick," said Mr. Pevensie.

"Oh, _please_," said Mrs. Pevensie, and without having to be asked, Peter told his mother he would fetch Susan.

"Please hurry up, because I want cake!" shouted Lucy as he walked away.

"Now, now, Lu, hold your horses," said Edmund, and she began to mutter to herself about 'stupid boys'.

Peter knocked at Susan's door and waited. "Come in!" she said.

He did, and walked over to where she was standing in front of the mirror. "Are we going to have to go through this again?" he sighed. "You're very pretty, Susan, and that dress looks lovely."

She was wearing a blue dress this time, with a black sash tied around her waist. Her hair wasn't curled, but instead put up in a fancy twist. Slowly, she turned around to face him. "It's not that," she said.

"Then what is it?"

"Well, this is going to sound perfectly silly, but I didn't get my birthday wish from last year."

"What? To be kissed?" said Peter.

Susan nodded.

He shrugged. "I didn't get mine either."

"But don't you think that's _wrong_? How can I go into my eleventh year without accomplishing the one thing I meant to do in my tenth?" She crossed her hands over her chest, looking displeased. She sighed. "I bet you anything I didn't get one because I'm not pretty."

Peter just stared at her.

"Oh, It's horrid, Peter, _horrid_. I was supposed to be a _woman_ in my tenth year, but I didn't even get one lousy kiss!"

"Su," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders, "shut up."

Susan gave him a very hard look. "Don't tell me what to do! You're not that much older than I am, you have no right - "

And then she was silent, because at that very moment, Peter had bent down and pressed his lips gently against hers.

She was still silent when he pulled away, only a few seconds later, looking triumphant.

"What on earth was that?" said Susan, blushing.

"I'm just being a good brother," said Peter in his defense. "Now you've had your first kiss. Now you can go into your eleventh year a happy woman, and stop complaining about how you're not pretty."

Susan mouthed wordlessly.

"Are you coming downstairs?" said Peter, grinning at her in an annoying, but endearing way.

She nodded and he left the room. Susan watched the door for a couple moments, still shocked, and then it opened again.

Peter stuck his head in. "Oh, by the way," he said. "Happy Birthday."

"Uh huh," said she.

He left again and Susan touched the spot on her mouth where he had kissed her.

She smiled.

--

**A/N: **I just realized that whenever I write Peter, he's always walking out of rooms, then walking right back into them. I find this amusing. :)


End file.
